Material treating apparatus



1944- J. EHRET, JR, ETAL MATERIAL TREATING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 22, 1940 4 SheetS Sheet l n N 0 R. R M l T J m. m N r 3 m3- "NEW Q: EU M A W w A NQ H M. m E W. QM J c mm Q G? v, 5 5 e8 3 2 NE J A E Wm Wm QN OWN \b n.b 22 W0 2 1 N 9L EL V 9 9 Q U Q 8 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. EHRET, JR, ET AL MATERIAL TREATING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 22, 1940 Aug. 29, 1944.

Aug. 29, 1944. J. EHRET, JR., ETAL MATERIAL TREATING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 22, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG-.9

/ /v VEN TOPS J. HR z JR.

c. W. mane-R BY FIG. /0

ATTORNEY I Aug. 29, '1944. HRE T A 2,356,837

MATERIAL TREATING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 22, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG ,2 I v FIG. [.3

4/NVEN T0196 7 J. EHRE 7; JR. 0. W. MA UREA? A TTO/PNEV Patented Aug. 29, 1944 UNITED 2,356,837 2 MATERIAL TREATING APPARATUS John Ehret, Jr., Trenton, N. .l'., and Carl W. Maurer, Freeport, N. Y., assignors to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 22, 1940, Serial No. 353,686

14 Claims.

This invention relates to material treating apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus for treating vacuum tube filaments.

Vacuum tube filaments are generally cut from a strand or ribbon of suitable material coated, for example, with a barium-strontium mixture baked to ahard surface. The necessary treatment to condition such filaments for welding, to support wires of the mounting structures of the various types of vacuum tubes, includes the cutting of the filament material into definite lengths and removing the coating from the ends of each length. Heretofore such treating proc esses have been carried out by hand, cutting the filament from a supply of material and with the aid of a razor blade or similar tool, scrapin the coating from the ends thereof. This has required painstaking efforts and considerable time of the individuals carrying out the process, due to the delicate structure of the material,

An object of the invention is to provide a ma- .terial treating apparatus which is highly efficient in treating filaments for vacuum tubes and accurately variable for treating filaments of various lengths.

With this and other objects in view, the invention comprises mechanism to advance covered material predetermined variable distances intermittently, scrape the cover for a variable distance from opposite sides of the material at predetermined variable spaced distances and sever the material at the scraped positions.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a front elevational View of the apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary end elevational view taken alon the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detailed view of the upper scraping unit, portions thereof being shown in section;

Figs. 6 and '7 are detailed views of the various forms of control cams;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along the line B--8 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along the line 99 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view illustrating the filaments and the result of the apparatus thereon;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged verticalsectional view taken-substantially along the line |-l'-I'l of Fig. 2;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged front elevational View Of: the feeding unit in open position;

Fig. 13 is an enlarged'vertical sectional view taken along the line I3I3'of Fig. 2;

Fig. 14 is a frontelevat'ionalview of the shearing unit shown in Fig; .8;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a portion of the feeding unit in closed position;

'Fig, 1.6 is a fragmentary sectional View of the clamp for one of the scraping elements, and

Fig. 17 is a fragmentary detailed view taken along the line ll-l1 of Fig. 2..

Referring. now to the drawings, particularly Figs. 1 and 2, the general structure of the apparatus includes a-base 20 upon which a power means, such as a motor 2.], is'mounted to drive a shaft 22 through the aid of pulleys 23'and 2 4'and a connectingbelt 25. The shaft 2 21is rotatab-ly supported in bearings 26 and 2"! and rotates a. cam shaft 28 in the directionof the arrow, through the aid ofa worm 29 of'the' shaft'22', interengaging a ,worm gear 30 of the cam shaft 28. Thecam shaft is rotatably journalled in'bearings 32 and 33 and has, adjustably mounted thereon, cams 35- and 36 conditioned to operate upper and lower scraping units indicated, respectively, at 3,1 and 3 8, the cam shaft also driving 'a control cam 40 through-a worm 4| and a worm gear 42-, the worm gear being mounted upon avertical shaft 43 journalled in a suitable bearing supported by the base vMl. The cam shaft further actuates a feeding unit, indicated generally at 48, through a cam 49 and also valves 50 and 5|; through cams 52 and 53, respectively. A cam 56 mounted upon the cam shaft controls the shearing unit shown in Figs. 8 and 14' and indicated generally at 51, while at the farthest end of the camshaft, that is, the

extreme left (Figs. 1 and 2), an eccentric -60is driven through bevelled gears GI and 6 2, the former being mounted upon'the cam shaft while the latter is mounted upon a vertical shaft 63 journalled in a bearing. 64 supported by the base 20. I

Mater'ial'feedz'ng unit The material to be treated may be of any desired-type, thatdn the present embodiment being suitable material 65 for. filaments of vacuum tubes having a coating 66 of other substance or material such as barium-strontium. lflg is .coated material may be previously wound upona supply reel (not shown) and feddownwardly, -as illus- *trated in Fig. '1, around a roller 6-1 of aitension engage the roller 94 to wise (Fig. 11).

.The cam lever. 98, however, moves the eeding unitarm 68. The tension arm is provided with a plurality of apertures 69 through which the arm may be mounted adjustably upon a vertical support 19 through the aid of a screw |I receivable in any of the apertures and also in a threaded aperture (not shown) in the support. Resilient means such as a spring I2 having one end receivable in one of the apertures 69 and the other end sup ported by a fixed member I3 with a hooked end I4, assists the tension arm against jerking movement during the feeding of the material and to cushion the arm in its movements, particularly its downward movement. The material being fed passes over a roller I5, which aligns the material for horizontal movement, through the scraping units 31 and 38 and through the feeding unit 98. I The feeding unit shown in Figs. 1, 2, 10, 11 and 14 has a substantially H-shaped slidable support 80 disposed between parallel spaced rails 8| and 82, these rails extending between uprights 83 and 84 and having their ends fixed thereto, the uprights being rigidly mounted upon the base 29. The slidable support 89 has a stationary gripping member 86 mounted upon the front face thereof with a suitable resilient pad Bl carried thereby having an upper surface lying adjacent the path of travel of the material and upon which the material rests. A movable gripping member 88 pivotally mounted at 89 on the slidable support 80, has a resilient pad 99 angular in cross section which extends in front of and beneath the movable gripping member and cooperates with the resilient pad 81 to firmly grip the material sufficiently to advance the material yet avoid damage thereto.

A latch 9| in the form of a bellcrank lever is pivotally supported at 92 upon the slidable support 89, and carries rollers 93 and 94 at the ends thereof, the roller 93 being positioned to ride upon the upper surface of the movable gripping member 88 including a cam portion 95 by the aid of which the roller 93 may cause the movable gripping member to move into gripping relation with the material. Suitable means such as a spring (not shown) is'provided to normally urge the movable gripping member 88 counterclockwise about its pivot when released by the latch 9|. The means to move the latch 9| into its holding position, shown in Fig. 15, includes a cam lever 98 pivoted at 99 on the slidable support 89 and having rollers IM and I92 mounted at the ends thereof. The roller ml is positioned to move the latch counterclockwise when the cam lever 98 is moved clock- The roller I92 is that when it has been moved with the slide in the path of the cam 49, the roller will be engaged by the cam and caused to move the cam lever a sufficient distance in a clockwise position, to move the latch 9| into the position shown in Fig. 1.

with the slidable support 89 during the reciprocal movement of the latter, and will not be actuated until the feeding unit has been moved to the right (Fig. 2) on its return movement so that the roller I92 will be brought into the path of the cam 49.

The eccentric 89 and associated parts consti tute the means to cause reciprocal movement of The eccentric 69 is rotated continuously through rotation of the cam shaft 28 and the bevelled gears BI and 62, rotating the eccentric clockwise (Fig. 2). A control block I95 slidably disposed in an elongate aperture I98 of an oscillating lever I91 pivotally supported at I98, is adjustably mounted uponthe eccentric positioned so .aperture H5 in the eccentric.

and supported thereon by arms I99 and H9.

The arms I99 and H9 are of a lever pivotally.

connected to the block I95 by a screw III, while the outer end of the arm I99 is pivotally mounted at I I2 upon the eccentric adjacent the outer edge thereof. The mounting for the outer end of the arm II9 includes a bolt |I4 extending through the arm III) and through an elongate arcuate The purpose of this structure is to enable the operator to control the effective movement of the lever I91 by moving the control block I95 toward or away from the center of the eccentric through the adjustment of the arms relative to the aperture I I5. This adjustable means conditions the feeding unit to feed variable, lengths of the material through the apparatus.

The forward end of the lever I0! is connected through a pivotal yoke I I9 to a pull rod 9, the latter extending through and secured to the slidable support to cause reciprocal movement of the feeding unit 48 during the oscillatory movement of the lever I91.

Means has been described to cause movement of the latch 9| through the actuation of the cam 99, to move the gripping member 88 from the position shown in Fig. 12 to the position shown in Fig. 15, to grip the material for the advancement of the material through the apparatus a definite predetermined distance during movement to the left (Fig. 1) of the feeding unit. Means is provided to trip the latch 9| as the feeding unit reaches the end of its feeding stroke so as to release the ripping member 88 andcondition the feeding unit to move to the right for another feeding cycle. This latch tripping means includes an element I25 grooved, at I23, to straddle the upper rail 8| and extend forwardly, as illustrated in Fig. 11, over the path of the roller 94. An elongate aperture I21 in the element I25 extends longitudinally of the element above the rail 8 I, to receive a screw I28 threadedly disposed in an aperture in the rail to firmly hold the element in any desired position relative to the rail. A shoulder I29 of the element I25 is positioned to be engaged by the roller 94 when the feeding unit'is moved to the left, to cause the latch 9| to move clockwise about its pivot 92 to release the gripping member 88 at the end of the feeding movement of the unit.

Due to the fact that the control block I95 of the eccentric 89 is variable through the adjustment of the arm N9 of the lever to vary the distance of movement to the feeding unit, the element I25 must necessarily be variable to vary the point in the travel of the feeding unit in which the gripping member 88 is released, to release its hold on the material through the aid of the gripping member 86. The adjusting means associated with the element I25 in addition to the screw I28 and the elongate aperture I21, includes an adjusting screw I39 (Figs. 1, 2 and 11) connected at I3I to a vertical integral portion of the element I32 for rotation, yet against longitudinal movement, while the threaded portion of the screw is disposed in a nut I33 fixed to the rail 8|. When the Screw I28 is made loose'the adjusting screw I30 may be rotated in ing unit-. 31. will remove the coating 66 from a desired length of the upper portion of the ma-' roller I40 at one end positioned to ride upon the cam 35. The cam 35, which is rotated counterclockwise (Fig. 9) with the cam shaft 28 has a high'portion- MI and a low portion I42, the latter allowing movement of the cam lever into what mightbe termed the scraping position, while the former moves the cam lever out of and holds the cam lever out of scraping position. The forward or outer end of the cam lever I38 supports a backing block i43 above which the material travels while being fed through the apparatus. A compression spring I44 partially housed in a projection I45 of the support I36 provides the force to move the cam lever I38 with the backing block and the material into scraping position. During this movement the spring I44 will move-the backing block I43 into engagement with the material and the material into engagement with spaced pads I41 disposed upon each side of a scraping element I50. The pads I41 serve to cooperate with the backing block I43 in firmly holding the material against movement during the scraping operation to avoid injury to the material. Furthermore, the pads I41 are mounted upon the under surface of a member I52 which has its ends fixed to spring pressed plungers I53, the plungers I53 extending vertically through internally threaded upright portions I54 integral with the support I36 and through helical compression springs 1I55 and adjusting nuts I56. The adjusting nuts I56 are threadedly disposed on the portions I54 to vary the force of the springs I55, counteracting and thus varying the force of the spring I44 holding the material in engagement with the scraping element I50. Sets of nuts I51 mounted upon the upper ends of the threaded portions of the plungers I53 provide means to vary the normal or lower position of the member I52. The scraping element I50 is movably disposed in a sleeve I60 removably supported by a reciprocating arm I6I. The lower end of the scraping element I50 has a scraping portion I62 substantially V-shaped in cross section and terminating in an edge positioned to be engaged by the material to be treated. A compression spring I53 disposed in the sleeve I60 backs up the scraping element I50 and serves as a cushioning means therefor during the scraping operation. A pin I64 extending through the sleeve I60'is positioned in an elongate recess I65 to limit the vertical movement of the scraping element and to hold the element at a normal position when the element is not scraping the material. A nut I61 is-threadedly disposed in the upper end of the sleeve I60 and is internally threaded to receive an adjusting screw I68, the latter engaging a plate I69 at its inner end to be moved by the adjusting screw to vary the tension of the spring I63.

The end of the reciprocating Iarm I6 I is end of the sleeve I60 and a gripping block I 13 is fixed to the outer end of the arm and has an inwardly. projecting portion I14 with a V- shaped groove I15. inits inner surface to cooperate with the walls of the notch I12 to firmly yet. removably hold the sleeve in place. The reciprocating arm. I6I is slidably disposed in an aperture I18. in the support I36 and extends inwardly as illustrated in Fig. 9, to a position where itreceives a reciprocating rod I80. The arm I6Iz' also has vertical integral. portions I19 disposed in. sliding engagement with the front and. rear surfaces of the support I36. to. serve as guides. during movement of the arm. The end of the arm. I6I. adjacent the rod I80 is in the form of a yoke, as illustrated in Fig. 2, to straddle the knurled nut. I8I, the latter being threaded upon the rod I80.for adjustment of the arm relative to the rod. The reciprocating rod I80. extends to the right (Fig. 2) through a bearing I83 to apoint where it is connected to a yoke I84. of. a link I85; The other end of the notched, as at I12 (Fig. 16) to receive the lower 76 port I90.

link I isoperatively connected to an eccentric I86 mounted upon the adjacent end of the shaft 22'; so that during rotation of the shaft the eccentric will cause the rod I80 to reciprocate in its bearings I83 and impart reciprocal movement to the scraping element I50'through the arm I6I.

The scraping unit 38, as stated heretofore, is substantially identicalin structure to the scraping'unit 31 except that the former is mounted in reverse order to that of the latter. fore, believed that only the difference in structure-as illustrated in Fig. 12 need be set forth, other details being identical to those shown, for example, in Fig. 5.

Attention is now directed to Fig. 12, wherein a-support I90 substantially H-shaped in contour is mounted between the rails 8| and 82 and provided with an aperture I9I through which a cam lever I92 extends and in which the lever is pivoted at I93. One end of the lever I92 is provided with a roller I94 positioned in engagement with the cam 36, which has a high portion I95 and a low portion I89, the high portion serving to hold the cam lever out of scrap ing position whereas the low portion I96 allows the cam lever to move into scraping position. A backing block I96, carried by the other end of the cam lever, is conditioned to be urged toward the material 65 by a compression spring I91 disposed in a hollow projection I98 of the sup- A member I99 supported by spaced plungers 200 identical in structure to the plungers I53 is conditioned by springs (not shown) similar to the springs I55 (Fig. 5) to .move the member I99 with the plungers 200 upwardly to positions limited by nuts 20I on the threaded portions 202 of the plungers abutting against adjusting screws 203 which also serve to vary thetension of the springs associated with the plungers. A scraping element 205 (Fig. 1) is identical in construction to the scraping element I50 and has a sleeve 206 provided with a spring identical with the spring I63 (Fig. 5), the tension of which may be varied by an adjusting screw 201 to vary the force of the spring on the scraping element. The sleeve 206 is removably and adjustably carried by a reciprocating arm 209 by the same type of means illustrated in Fig. 16. The reciprocating arm 209 extends through the aperture I9I in which it is slidably disposed for reciprocatory movement and has its innerend apertured to receive the reciprocating It is, thererod !80 and notched to receive a knurled adjusting nut 2H1.

The scraping unit 38 is positioned relative to the scraping unit 3'! so that the portion of the material which has 'had the coating removed from its upper surface by the unit 31 will be positioned in the scraping unit 38 for the removal of the coating from the under surface of that portion. When the material is thus positioned it will in this instance rest upon the pads similar to the pads !4! of unit 31, and the cam lever together with the backing block I96 will be moved by the compression spring !9! when permitted by the cam 36, so as to force the plungers 200 together with the material, the pads and the member !99 downwardly against the force of the springs adjacent the adjusting screws 203, until the material has been positioned with respect to the scraping element 205 so that the reciprocatory movement of the scraping element through the movement of the arm 209 will cause removal of the coating on the material.

Shearing unit Attention is now directed to Figs. 1, 2, 8 and 14, which illustrate the shearing unit 5'!.' This unit is also provided with a substantially H-shaped support 2!5 mounted between and supported by rails 8! and 82 and adjustable thereon if desired. The support 2I5 has a forwardly extending integral projection 2!6 upon which a shearing block 2!! is mounted. A clamping block 2!8 is positioned above the shearing block 2!! and is supported by a pair of bolts 22!) which are movable freely in vertical apertures in the shearing block and support compression springs 22! extending between the heads of the bolts and the under surface of the shearing block. These springs normally urge the clamping block 2!8 downwardly under predetermined variable pressure, to hold the material 65 against movement during the shearing operation. A shearing blade 223 pivotally supported at 224 in the support 2!5, carries a projection 225 extending laterally in a cutaway portion 226 of the clamping block -2!8, to move the clamping block upwardly when the shearing blade is moved upwardly or counterclockwise to position the clamping block 2l8 away. from the shearing block for free movement of the material during the time of its advancement. A tension spring 228 having one end connected to the shearing blade 223 and the other end connected to a support 229 fixed to the rail 8!, provides the means to move the shearing blade clockwise through its shearing operation. A cam arm 238 connected to the inner end of the shearing blade carries a roller 23! positioned to engage the cam 56 which is conditioned to move the shearing blade counterclockwise or out of shearing position, and to also force the clamping block 2!8 upwardly. A high portion 232 of the cam 56 causes upward or counterclockwise movement of the shearing blade, while a low portion 233 of the cam allows the spring 228 to move the shearing blade through its shearing operation. The shearing block 2!! is positioned so that it will cooperate with the shearing blade in shearing the material.

The material in being advanced through the apparatus is pulled by the feeding unit 48, yet that portion in advance of the feeding unit is pushed through the shearing unit. To maintain the material in a definite path, a supporting means is provided for that portion of the material in advance of the feeding unit, that is, be-

tween the feeding unit and the shearing unit. This means consists of a supporting belt 235 (Figs. 1, 12 and 14) which has one end extending partially around and fixed to a projection 236 mounted upon the rail 82, while the other end is fixed at 23! to the shearing block 2!!. The intermediate portion of the belt 235 is conditioned to travel around rollers 238 and 239 carried by the feeding unit 48, the roller 239 being positioned with the forward securing means 23'! to provide a support for the material in its normal plane of travel.

Valve control means The valves 50 and 5! are mounted upon a common valve casing 240 which is supplied with air under pressure from a suitable source (not shown) through a hose connection 24!. The detailed structures of the valves 50 and 5! are not shown, as these valves may be of any desired commercial type of plunger controlled valves normally closed but conditioned to be opened by pressure on the plungers.

An upright,242 is mounted upon the valve casing 240 and supports a shaft 243 at its upper end, this ,shaft also rotatably supporting cam levers 244 and 245. The cam levers 244 and 245 together with the associated parts to be described are identical in structure, and Fig. 3 is thought sufficient together with the showing in Fig. 2, to clearly illustrate both structures. The cam levers 244 and 245 have projections 246 and 24'! disposed respectively to engage the plungers of their valves 50 and 5!. Cam blocks 248 and 249 are mounted upon the cam levers 244 and 245, respectively, to ride upon their respective cams 52 and 53. The cams 52 and 53 have low portions 250 and 25!, respectively, conditioned to receive the cam blocks 248 and 249, respectively, to allow the cam levers to move downwardly by gravity or other force to open the valves during predetermined intervals during the operating cycle of the apparatus.

The valve 58 when open directs a current of air through an air line 255 to a platform 256 (Figs. 2 and 17) upon which the completed filaments are positioned after the operation of the shearing unit 51, the upper surface of the platform 256 being disposed adjacent the plane of travel of the material so that during advancement of the material the finished portion fed beyond the shearing unit rests upon the platform during the shearing operation. The valve 50 is controlled by the cam 52 and other means hereinafter described so that it will be opened only after the shearing unit has operated. The purpose of the jet of air is to blow the completed filament from the platform into a receptacle or trough 258 which in the present instance is a part of the structure including the platform 256. The trough 258 is open at its ends so that the finished filaments may be readily removed therefrom and a forward wall 259 extends upwardly above the platform to cause the filaments to drop into the trough and prevent the filaments from being blown beyond the trough.

The valve 5! is operated to cause intermittent jets of air to pass to an air line 260 which is divided into two air lines at 26! to direct air to the scraping units 3'! and 38. Although no detailed structure is shown illustrating the termination of the air lines at the scraping units, it i believed sufficient to say that these air lines are positioned to direct their currentsof air toward their respective scraping elements I 50 and 205 to blow the particles of the covering as they are removed from the material.

Control cam mechanism The control cam 40 has variou purposes and controls .the operation of the scraping units 31 and 38, the shearing unit 51 and th valve 50. With this cam structure which is operated in' synchrom'sm with the cams 35, 36, 52 and 56, as well as the cam 49 which controls the feeding unit 48, the apparatus may be conditioned to cause the scraping units to operate during each cycle of operation of the apparatus, that is, during each cycle of the cam shaft and during every other cycle thereof or at definite tim intervals depending upon the length of filament desired. For example, if the scraping units were operated during each cycle of operation of the cam shaft, a filament of a definite length would be completed. If, however, the scraping units were operated once during every two cycles of operation of th cam shaft the completed filaments would be twice that length. With the present cam structure the scraping unit are conditioned to operate during every third cycle of operation of the cam shaft. This is brought about by the number and length of high portions 265 on the cam 40. These portion determine the length of time the scraping units will be held out of operation, it being understood that the cam 40,. due to its connection with the cam shaft 28, rotates at a much lower speed than the cam shaft or at a ratio of twelve to one.

A cam lever 266, pivoted at 261, has a cam roller 268 positioned to ride upon the high portions 265 of the cam 40 and also upon low portions 269 thereof. The lever 266 is operatively connected, at 210, to a control rod 21I which is slidably supported in suitable bearings 212 and is normally urged to the right (Fig. 2) by a spring 213 to cause the cam roller to ride upon the cam 40. A vertical latch or holding member 215 has an integral sleeve portion 211 hollowed to receive the control rod 211 and provided with suitable means, such as a set screw 218, so that the holding member 215 may be disposed at any desired adjusted position depending upon the relative location of its scraping unit 38. A pin or projection 280 is carried by the member 215 and conditioned to be moved to a position above the cam lever I92 (Fig. 13) to hold the cam lever in the position shown, to render the scraping unit ineffective for operation. Therefore, during the time the cam roller 268 rides upon one of the high portions 265 of the cam 40 the scraping unit 38 will be rendered ineffective for operation, allowing predetermined lengths of thematerial to be advanced thereto.

Due to the fact that certain lengths of the material may be advanced, the end of th material being fed onto the platform 256, it is important that the valve 50 be held against operation until the complete length of the filament has been fed to the shearing unit and separated from the main body of material by the shearing unit. Therefore, a control or holding member 284 adjustably mounted upon the rod 21l in the same manner as the member 215 has a pin 285 positioned to be located beneath the cam lever 244 to hold th cam lever upwardly against opeartion of the valve 50 until the completed filament has been severed and located upon the platform 256. As stated heretofore, the material 65 is of a delicate structure and if the valve 50 should be opened during the first two cycles of the cam shaft while the filament would not be completed until during the third cycle of the cam shaft, the forward end of the incompleted filament would not be blown from the platform and the completed filaments would, therefore, not be directed to lie uniformly in the trough 258.

In order that the shearing unit will operate at desired intervals, for example, during every third cycle of the cam shaft 28, another control rod 290 mounted in suitable bearings 29! for reciprocal movement is normally urged to the right by a spring 292 and is controlled by the cam 40 by the structure shown in Fig. 2. A cam lever 293, pivotally supported near its center to a support 294, carries a roller at one end positioned to engage the cam 40, While the other end is connected through a link 296 to the control rod 290 at 291. With the roller in engagement with the low portion of the cam 40, the control rod 290 is moved to the right by the spring 292. While in this position a holding member 298 (Figs. 2 and 8) is positioned away from the cam arm 230 and shearing blade 223. However, when the cam 40 is'moved to move the roller 295 upon a high portion thereof, as shown in Fig. 2, the holding member will be moved to position a pin or projection 289 above and for engagement with a lug 300 carried by the shearing blade 223. This mechanism serves to hold the shearing blade against operation during certain cycles of operation of the camshaft 28. The control rod 290 also carries a holding member 214 adjustably positioned to hold the cam lever I38 (Fig. 9) in upper or inoperative position when the control rod is moved to the right (Fig. 2) and free the cam lever for operation when the control rod is moved to the left.

The cam 40 which is conditioned to cause the scraping uints 31 and 38, the valve 50 and the shearing unit 51 to operate once during every three cycles of operation of the cam shaft 28 may be readily removed, for example, by removin the shaft 43, and another cam disposed in to the cam 40 and differing only in th dimensions and number of high portions 302 and low portions 303. As this cam, the same as cam 40,

will rotate with the cam shaft 28 at a ratio of twelve to one, cam 30| will cause operation of the control means associated therewith, if substituted for the cam 40, to effect operation of the scraping units 31 and 38, the valve 50 and the shearing unit 51 once during every two cycles of operation of the cam shaft 28. Another type of control cam is shown at 401 in Fig. 7. This cam has two high portions 402 equal in length to the high portions 302 of cam 30! but the remaining high portions 403 are longer. This control cam will cause the scraping units and the shearing unit to operate to form two short filaments and two long ones and also cause operatiqn of the valve 50 at the correct intervals to eject the completed filaments. It should be apparent that other types of cams, that is, cams equal in diameter to the cams 40, 3M and 4M, may be provided with other combinations of high portions and low portions to cause a high variation in the time intervals of operation of the different units of the apparatus associated therewith, to vary the length of the filaments formed by the apparatus. With cams' of the type shown in Fig. '1, various types of filaments, that is, filavments of various lengths may be formed during the continued operation of the apparatus.

Operation With the apparatus as shown, particularly in Figs. 1 and 2, the material 65 is advanced a definite distance determined by the eccentric 60 and the latch tripping element I25, As the eccentric is rotated the lever I01 is oscillated, imparting a reciprocatory movement to the feeding unit, moving it to the right (Figs. 1 and 12), with the gripping members 86 and 88 open, until the unit reaches the limit of this movement. The roller I02 (Fig. 11) will then be positioned in the path of the cam 49, which will cause clockwise movement of the cam lever 98, moving the latch into the position shown in Fig. 15, resulting in the movement of the gripping member 88 about its pivot to cause a gripping relation between the pads 81 and 90 and the material. The feeding unit will then be moved to the left, pulling the material through the scraping units which at this time will be in their open positions.

The feeding unit operates through a complete cycle during each cycle or complete rotation of the cam shaft; 28, while the control cam 40 rotates once during every twelve cycles of the cam shaft 28 and the feeding unit. In order that the operation of the apparatus may be understood more clearly, let the thought be in mind that the feeding unit 48 completes six half cycles, namely three feeding half cycles and three return half cycles during three cycles of the cam shaft and one-quarter cycle of the control cam 40. During the first return half cycle of the feeding unit, that is, during the movement of the feeding unit from its extreme position at the left (Fig. 2) to its extreme position at the right, at which time the material is held against movement, the shearing unit 51 is operated to shear a completed filament or portion from the main supply of material and the scraping unit 31 is operated as well as the valve The valve 5I is operated during each cycle of operation of the cam shaft 28, to cause air-to be directed to the scraping elements of the units 31 and 38 to blow the particles removed by the scraping operations from the material. The scraping unit 31 as well as the shearing unit 51 are conditioned for operation by the roller of the lever 293 at one of the low portions 269 of the cam 40, allowing the spring 292 to move the rod 290 to the right, freeing the holding member 212 from beneath the cam lever I38 (Fig. 9) and moving the projection 289 of the holding member 288 (Fig. 8), free of the lug 300 on the shearing blade 223. The cams 56 and 35 are so arranged that, their associated units, namely the shearing unit 51 and the scraping unit 31, will be caused to operate during this return or first half cycle of the feeding unit. The high portions of these cams 56 and 35 are conditioned to move their respective units in to inoperative positions; for example, the

cam 56 will move the shearing blade 223 upwardly to move the clamping block 2I8 free of the material and the cam will 'move the lever I38 to lower the backing-block I43 downwardly and free the material from the scraping element I50 and condition the material for advancement. While the'rollers I40 and 23I ride upon the high portions of their respective cams 35 and 56, the rod 298 will be moved to the left (Fig. 2), positioning the holding members 214 and 298 to hold their respective cam levers I38 and 230 in their inoperative positions, so that during the next two and one-half cycles of operation of the cam shaft 28, these units will be held against operation.

During the next half cycle of the cam shaft, the feeding unit 48 is moved to the left, advancing the material a definite distance, at which time none of the other units are operated. During the next return or half cycle of the feeding unit to the left (Fig. 2), the scraping unit 38 and valves 50 and 5| are operated. It will be noted by viewing Fig. 2, that the lever 293 has moved the rod 290 to the left to render the holding members 214 and 298 effective to hold the scraping unit 31 and shearing unit 51 against operation, and at this time the roller 268 of the lever 266 has moved inwardly to a low portion of the cam 40, allowing the spring 213 to move the rod 21I to the right, freeing the unit 38 and the valve 55 for operation, by moving the holding members 215 and 284 so that their pins or projections 280 and 285, respectively, will be moved free of their respective cam levers I92 and 245. During this half cycle of the feeding unit the portion of the material which has had the coating removed from the upper surface thereof during the' previous return movement of the feeding unit by the scraping unit 31, will be located relative to the scraping unit 38 so that the scraping element 205 thereof will remove the covering directly beneath the said portion of the material, The scraping elements I50 and 205 are continuously reciprocated through the movement of the reciprocating rod I80, so that when the material is moved into and held in engagement with these scraping elements the coating or covering 66 on the material is removed. The operation of the valve 5| during the scraping operations causes air to blow the particles of the coveringmaterial free of the scraping units.

During this half cycle of operation the valve 50 is allowed to be opened by the cam block 248 being allowed to ride upon its cam 52, forcing air through the air line 255 to blow the completed filament, which has been resting upon the platform 256, into the trough 258. Before the feeding unit 48 starts its next, half cycle to feed the material to the left, the cams 36 and 52 will move their cam levers to render their respective unit 38 and valve 50 ineffective and hold the cam levers thus until the roller 268 (Fig. 2) rides upon a high portion 265 of the cam 40, to move the rod 21I to the left to cause the holding members 215 and 284 effective to hold their respective cam levers in inoperative positions for the next two and one-half cycles of operation of the cam shaft 28.

Following the half cycle in which the scraping unit 38 and the valve 50 are operated together advanced to the scraping unit 38 where the covering has been removed from beneath that portion and two additional advancements have been made on the material, and now the apparatus is in readiness to repeat this operation. As a result, due to the selection of the particular control cam 40 and the adjustment of the eccentric 60 and the element I25 for the feeding unit, the completed filament is of a length determined by three times the distance the feeding unit moves to advance the material, the scraping units having removed the covering from portions at both ends of this definite length and the shearing unit severing the material at the mid-pointof scraped portions, which treatment produces a filament of a definite length with the covering material removed for definite distances at both ends thereof.

It should be understood that the length of these filaments may be varied either by employing dilferent control cams or varying the stroke of the feeding unit through the eccentric 611 and the element I25 or varying the relative positions of the scraping units 3'! and 38 or a combination of all of these features.

The embodiment of this invention disclosed is illustrative only and may be widely modified and departed from in many ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as pointed out in and limited solely by the append ed claims. 1

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for treating material, a scraping element continuously reciprocable in a given path, a backing member, means to advance material intermittently between the element and the backing member, means to cause the back ing member to move a portion of the material into engagement with the element and support the said portion in a plane parallel with the said path, and means to hold the backing member away from the element during a predetermined number of intermittent movements of the material.

2. In an apparatus for treating material, a feeding unit operable in continuously repeated cycles to advance a material intermittently, means to vary the distance the feeding unit advances the material, scraping units operable to scrape opposing surfaces of the material, means to adjustably support the scraping units spaced distances variable with variations in the feeding units, and means to cause alternate operations of the scraping units to cause alternate scraping of like portions of the material.

3. In an apparatus for treating material, means operable in continuously repeated cycles to ad- Vance a material intermittently, scraping units to scrape opposing portions of the material, a shearing unit to shear portions of predetermined length from the material, a platform to receive the sheared portions, a valve operable to cause air under pressure to force the sheared portions from the platform, a control member, and separate means actuated by the control member to cause operation of the units and valve in predetermined sequence to produce and eject sheared portions of predetermined lengths with the ends thereof scraped.

4. In an apparatus for treating material, a unit to move material intermittently in a predetermined path, a scraping element, means to caus reciprocatory movement of the element in a path parallel with the path of the material, and means to cause movement of a portion of the material at right angles to the paths and in engagement with the element during reciprocatory movement of the latter to efiect scraping of the portion by the element.

5. In an apparatus for treating material, a unit to move material intermittently in a predetercause movement of a portion of the material'at an angle with respect to the path and in engagement with the element during reciprocatory movement of the latter to effect scraping of the portion by the element, and means to grip the said portion at each side of the element to hold the portion against longitudinal movement while being scraped,

6. In an apparatus for treating material, a scraping element reciprocable in a given path, means to advance a material intermittently relative to the element, and a support adapted for movement between the advancements of the material to move a portion of the material transversely of the said path to position and support the said portion in engagement with the element in a plane parallel with the said path.

'7. In an apparatus for treating material, a scraping element reciprocable in a given path, means to advance a material intermittently relative to the element, a support adapted for movement between the advancements of the material to move a portion of the material transversely of the said path to position and support the said portion in engagement with the elementin a plane parallel with the said path, and means to hold the said portion against movement during the engagement of the material with the element.

8. In an apparatus for treating material, a scraping element, a member adapted to support the element for movement in a given direction relative thereto from a normal stop position, means to reciprocate the member with the element in a path at an angle with respect to the said direction of movement of the element, means to advance a material intermittently relative to the element, means to move a portion of the material in the said given direction against the element for th scraping of the portionby the element, and a spring carried. by the supporting member to apply a force to the element to normally hold the element in the said stop position and cushion the element when moved away from stop position by the said portion during the scraping thereof.

9. In an apparatus for treating material, a scraping element, a member adapted to support the element for movement in a given direction relative thereto from a normal stop position, means to reciprocate the member with the element in a path at an angle with respect to the said direction of movement of the element, means to advance a material intermittently relative to the element, means to move a portion of the material in the said given direction against the element for the scraping of the portion by the element, a spring carried by the supporting member to apply a force to the element to normally hold the element in the said stop position and cushion the element when moved away from stop position 11. In an apparatus for treating material, 'a.

feeding unit operated at repeated cycles to intermittently advance a material longitudinally, scraping units disposed at opposite sides of the material and at spaced positions longitudinally thereof, means 'to cause substantially simultaneous operation of the scraping units during predetermined cycles of the feeding unit to cause scraping of different sides of different portions of the material to produce the portions of the material with both sides scraped, and means for each scraping unit to support the respective portions of the material at the opposite sides of their respective scraping units While the said portions are being scraped.

12. In an apparatus for treating material, a feeding unit operated at repeated cycles to intermittently advance a material longitudinally, scraping units disposed at opposite sides of the material and at spaced positions longitudinally thereof, material supporting members for the scraping units movable to position differentportions of the material in positions to be scraped by their scraping units and support the portions during the scraping thereof, and means to cause movement of the supporting members during predetermined cycles of the feeding unit to cause scraping of different sides of different portions of the material to produce the portions of the material with both sides scraped.

13. In an apparatus for treating material, a reciprocable feeding unit to longitudinally advance a material intermittently, means to scrape portions of the material, a shearing unit adapted for operation during predetermined cycles of the feeding unit toward and away therefrom to shear lengths from the leading end of the material, a belt disposed adjacent the shearing unit, and means to cause the belt to support the successive leading ends of the material between the said units. I

14. In an apparatus for treating material, a reeiprocable feeding unit to longitudinally advance a material intermittently, means to scrape portions of the material, a shearing unit adapted for operation during predetermined cycles of the feeding unit toward and away therefrom to shear lengths from the leading end of the materiaL a belt disposed adjacent the shearing unit, and means carried by the feeding unit to move the belt into and out of engagement with the leading end of the material during the respective movements of the feeding unit away from and toward the shearing unit to cause the belt to support the successive leading ends of the material 

